Singer and songwriter Monica revealed that working with Ariana Grande on the remix of “The Boy Is Mine” brought her and Brandy together and helped mend their relationship. Read more on this inside.
Monica hopping on Ariana’s version of the “The Boy Is Mine” was an easy decision for her. Grande brought both singers of the original Grammy award-winning hit together for the remix. According to Monica, this was helpful for her and Brandy to restore their relationship.
Earlier this month, Grande teased her single “The Boy Is Mine” on Instagram, which was inspired by Monica and Brandy’s 1998 award-winning collaboration. Grande featured the two R&B legends in the music video in the first 47 seconds of the visual paying homage to Catwoman. Brandy and Monica played the role of two news anchors discussing breaking news about a mayor, played by actor Penn Badgley, who Grande was crushing on and desired all to herself.
Check out Ariana’s post below:
Shortly after the music video was released, Grande shared that Brandy and Monica would feature on the official remix for the song. The remix dropped Friday (June 21).
It was a pleasant and shocking surprise to fans who are aware of the decades long drama between the two singers. Monica spoke with ET Online to discuss the new collaboration.
“I’ve always said that the song should not be touched, right? And I said that because I felt that it did not need to be redone in the idea of, let’s say, actually doing it the exact way that it was,” Monica shared. “But Ariana and [producer] Max Martin — as soon as I heard this version, I fell in love with it.”
She added, “What I am so amazed by is her humility, her compassion. On the day that we recorded, I received flowers and a note that was directly from her. Everything has been directly from her chest and, for me, authenticity, humility, all of those things are key.”
Brandy and Monica last reunited in 2020 during their Verzuz show, where they performed their biggest hits.
“The process of the new collaboration did a lot of closing the gaps,” Monica shared about mending her relationship to Brandy.
Grande reviving their hit single also revived the singers’ relationship with one another. Monica adds how their communication has improved since the remix.
“When you properly communicate, something — you can find not only the resolutions and solutions to problems — but sometimes you find that there weren’t ever problems, just consistent miscommunications,” Monica said. “It made it a lot easier just to talk.”
Monica also disclosed that she and Brandy have conversed more now than they have in the past 25 years.
“We recognized that the key was to keep other people out of our relationship, both business and personal, and let it be between she and I, and that has changed everything. It’s changed the trajectory of it in its totality,” Monica explained. “My son was in the hospital the other day and she was who I was speaking to while he was there, so I think that is what Ariana has done that she may not even realize.”
Check out Ariana Grande’s “The Boy Is Mine” Remix featuring Brandy and Monica below: